(L to R) MDEQ state geologist James Starnes, DSU senior Olivia Pharr and Dr. Nina Baghai-Riding with the poster they co-authored for the 2025 MAS Annual Meeting.CLEVELAND, Miss. — Twelve undergraduate students and seven faculty members from Delta State University’s Division of Mathematics and Sciences participated in the 89th Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS), held March 20–21, 2025, in Biloxi.
Represented academic programs included agriculture and plant sciences, chemistry, ecology, entomology, evolution and zoology (EEEZ), geology and geography, microbiology, and science education. Delta State’s contributions consisted of three oral and fourteen poster presentations.
Faculty presenters included Drs. Nina Baghai-Riding, Joseph Bentley, Chris Jurgenson, Tanya McKinney, and Charles Smithhart. In addition, Drs. William Katembe and Severine Groh served as judges for the EEEZ Division, and Bentley and Jurgenson served as judges for the Chemistry Division. Representing Delta State’s undergraduate research efforts were chemistry majors Janne Bodemer, Johnathan McCaskill, and Erick Manriquez. Environmental science and biology majors included Layan Asmar, Donald Coleman, Jordon Kloth, Mikayla Kloth, Molly Mellen, Olivia Pharr and Meredith Rice. Chemistry graduate student Alexis Harley also presented.
Jurgenson served as Chair of the Division of Science Education and presented a paper titled “Combining Predicted, Calculated, and Hands-On NMR Spectra to Enhance Instruction of Molecular Structure in Organic Chemistry.” He reflected on the value of the experience, saying, “Attending the MAS annual conference provides students with a valuable opportunity to engage with the broader academic community across the state. It exposes them to current developments in their field, fosters professional growth, and encourages networking with fellow students and researchers. Bringing students to MAS is a long-standing tradition—one that I deeply value and hope to continue for many years to come.”
Baghai-Riding served as co-chair of the EEEZ Division alongside Dr. Seung-Joon Ahn, Assistant Professor in the Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department at Mississippi State University. Together, they organized student and professional oral and poster sessions, coordinated a field trip to the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport, and chaired the division’s sessions. Baghai-Riding also gave a guest lecture during the event.
Several Delta State students earned recognition for their scientific contributions. Olivia Pharr, a senior majoring in Environmental Science (General Concentration) and Biology (General Concentration), received the prestigious Millsaps Award for her poster presentation titled “The Avian Influenza Takes Its Toll on the Birds of North America,” which ranked in the top 10% of undergraduate abstracts. Pharr also earned second place in the EEEZ Division poster competition for her project “Vehicular Collisions with Raptors in the Mississippi Delta.”
Meredith Rice, a senior majoring in Environmental Science (Wildlife Management Concentration) and Biology (General Concentration), received third place in the EEEZ Division abstract competition for her research on “Anatomical Features of Taraxacum officinale (Common Dandelion).”
For many students, MAS was their first experience attending a scientific conference. Chemistry major Janne Bodemer shared, “MAS was my first conference, and it was a great trip. Even though I was nervous at the beginning, it was fun talking to like-minded people about a project and a field of study that I care about.”
Additionally, the Mississippi Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists held its meeting during the conference. Baghai-Riding was reelected as Vice President, and Pharr was renominated as a Student Representative. Pharr also received a $100 scholarship from the chapter in recognition of her achievements.
For more information about the Mississippi Academy of Sciences and the 2025 conference, visit https://msacad.org.
To learn more about the degree programs offered by Delta State’s Division of Mathematics and Sciences, visit: www.deltastate.edu/artsandsciences/mathematics-and-sciences.
